Bored of Netflix? 12 Lesser-Known Prime Video Series Worth the Watch
Tired of scrolling through Netflix's seemingly endless carousel of shows you've either seen or have no interest in seeing? Yeah, me too.
Let's shake things up a bit and look into the hidden trove that is Amazon Prime Video. Below are some lesser-known but totally binge-worthy series you'll probably want to add to your watchlist.
1. Mad Dogs
You know how vacations with old friends are supposed to be relaxing? Mad Dogs takes that notion and tosses it into a bonfire. Four middle-aged friends reunite for a holiday in Belize, hosted by a mysterious and wealthy fifth pal. Then, suddenly, a murder happens, and they find themselves entangled in a web of corruption and danger, way out of their depth. Forget tanning; they're too busy running from the law and from hitmen. It's like The Hangover but darker, way darker.
2. The Family Man
Switch gears to India with The Family Man, where our hero Srikant Tiwari juggles covert ops and domestic chores with equal fervor. During the day, he's tracking terrorists and by night, attending parent-teacher meetings. You'll cringe at his awkward dad jokes while sitting on the edge of your seat as he disarms a bomb or two. The series strikes a crazy but believable balance between a spy thriller and a family drama.
3. Patriot
Ever think a spy's life could be recounted through folk music? Meet John Tavner, an intelligence officer posing as a corporate drone. This guy has to halt Iran's nuclear plans, and he does it in the most unorthodox ways imaginable. Between wrestling with PTSD and spilling state secrets to a stranger in Amsterdam, John's life becomes a labyrinth of absurd but critical complications. And get this: he processes all these twists through his soulful folk songs.
4. Red Oaks
If you're nostalgic for mullets, VHS tapes, and neon everything, then Red Oaks is your jam. It's summer in the '80s, and David, a college student, scores a job as a tennis instructor at the snooty Red Oaks Country Club. Think Dirty Dancing but with tennis rackets and Wall Street types. From cringey encounters with the club's eccentric members to misadventures in love, David's summer is anything but ordinary.
5. Catastrophe
Ever have a fling you couldn't shake off? Catastrophe is about an American guy, Rob, and an Irish woman, Sharon, who have a one-week stand that leads to an unexpected pregnancy. Sounds like a typical rom-com setup, right? Wrong. They decide to give the whole "family thing" a whirl and, trust me, it's anything but smooth sailing. Between navigating healthcare, dealing with in-laws, and accidentally offending every parent in the PTA, they find out that life's greatest catastrophe might just be its biggest gift.
6. Sneaky Pete
Remember those games of pretend you used to play as a kid? Giovanni Ribisi takes it to a new level in Sneaky Pete. Fresh out of prison, Marius adopts the identity of his cellmate Pete to evade a gangster he owes money. Simple plan, until he finds himself deeply entangled in the real Pete's complicated family life. As he uses his con-man skills to solve their problems, he starts wondering if the family he fooled is the one he's been missing all along.
7. Fortitude
Ever wondered what would happen if your peaceful snow-globe-like town suddenly became the set of a murder mystery? Fortitude unravels in an Arctic Circle town where things take a chaotic turn after a brutal murder shocks the tight-knit community. What makes it wilder? The place hadn't seen crime in decades! In between the snowstorms and eerie isolation, the townsfolk, ranging from a shifty sheriff to twitchy scientists, scramble to find the killer. Spoiler: it's not just man vs man; nature's got its own role in this twisted drama.
8. Goliath
Picture this: a washed-up lawyer drowning his sorrows in cheap booze takes on a wrongful death case that everyone advises him to avoid. Sounds cliché? Wait till you meet Billy McBride in Goliath. As he uncovers a conspiracy that puts him up against a mammoth aerospace company, things go from bad to cataclysmic. The stakes are sky-high, and Billy has got nothing to lose. Think of it as David vs. Goliath in a courtroom, but with more legal jargon and less slingshots.
9. The Tick
We all love a good superhero story, but how about one that doesn't take itself too seriously? Enter The Tick, a world where superheroes and villains exist but aren't exactly what you'd expect. Our protagonist is a naive but enthusiastic, well, tick—donned in a blue costume. He teams up with a regular guy named Arthur to fight villains like "The Terror".
10. Hanna
Imagine being raised in a forest, trained to be an assassin by your dad, and then being thrust into the real world. That's Hanna's life in a nutshell. This teen must evade a relentless CIA agent while discovering truths about who she really is. No high school drama here; just hand-to-hand combat and a complex web of secrets and betrayals.
11. Forever
What if you had to spend eternity with your spouse, for real? Forever explores this very question when a married couple, Oscar and June, find themselves in an afterlife where they're stuck with each other, well, forever. They navigate through eternal existential crises, even as their eternal neighbors offer more excitement than they bargained for.
12. Undone
Undone is a trippy ride through time and reality. After surviving a car accident, Alma discovers she can manipulate time. Guided by her deceased father, she sets out to solve the mystery of his murder. But hold up—the lines between the past, present, and future blur, and you'll question what's real and what's in Alma's head.